Inception and Philosophy: Because It's Never Just a Dream

A philosophical look at the movie Inception and its
brilliant metaphysical puzzles

Is the top still spinning? Was it all a dream? In the world of
Christopher Nolan's four-time Academy Award-winning movie, people
can share one another's dreams and alter their beliefs and
thoughts. Inception is a metaphysical heist film that raises
more questions than it answers: Can we know what is real? Can you
be held morally responsible for what you do in dreams? What is the
nature of dreams, and what do they tell us about the boundaries of
"self" and "other"? From Plato to Aristotle and from Descartes to
Hume, Inception and Philosophy draws from important
philosophical minds to shed new light on the movie's captivating
themes, including the one that everyone talks about: did the top
fall down (and does it even matter)?

Explores the movie's key questions and themes, including how we
can tell if we're dreaming or awake, how to make sense of a
paradox, and whether or not inception is possible

Gives new insights into the nature of free will, time, dreams,
and the unconscious mind

Discusses different interpretations of the film, and whether or
not philosophy can help shed light on which is the "right one"

David Kyle johnson is assistant professor of philosophy at
King's College in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and the editor of
Heroes and Philosophy.

William Irwin is a professor of philosophy at King's College. He
originated the philosophy and popular culture genre of books as
coeditor of the bestselling The Simpsons and Philosophy and has
overseen recent titles, including House and Philosophy, Alice in
Wonderland and Philosophy, and Mad Men and Philosophy. To learn
more about the Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture series,

Permissions

To apply for permission please send your request to permissions@wiley.com with
specific details of your requirements. This should include, the Wiley title(s), and the specific portion of the content you wish to re-use
(e.g figure, table, text extract, chapter, page numbers etc), the way in which you wish to re-use it, the circulation/print run/number of people
who will have access to the content and whether this is for commercial or academic purposes. If this is a republication request please include details
of the new work in which the Wiley content will appear.